Scoring device particularly for golf



Aug. 23, 1966 K. J. STALLER ET AL 3,268,168

SCORING DEVICE PARTICULARLY FOR GOLF 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 10, 1965 INVENTOQS.

KAREL JAN TALLER BY HARLES TALLER 61 M ATTORNEY.

Aug. 23, 1966 K. J. STALLER ET AL 3,268,168

scomue DEVICE PARTICULARLY FOR GOLF 5 Sheets-$heet 8 Filed June 10, 1965 ,13 l-A 7/ --5 ll INVENTORSLER F IG. 2 wfififfih? 5 1 2 1159 A TTORNE).

Aug. 23, 1966 K. J. STALLER ET AL 3,268,168

SCORING DEVICE PARTICULARLY FOR GOLF Filed June 10, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet :3

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I NVEN TORS.

K REL JAN STALLER F I 4 CfiARLES S'TALLER BY w A TTORNE),

United States Patent 3,268,168 SCORING DEVICE PARTICULARLY FOR GOLF Karel J. Staller, Rutherford, N.J., and Charles V. Staller, Carshalton Beaches, Surrey, England, assignors to Aidevices, Inc., a corporation of New York Filed June 10, 1965, Ser. No. 462,878 2 Claims. (Cl. 235114) Our invention relates to a scoring device which is particularly intended for use in keeping an accurate record of the proceedings in a game such as golf.

total score of the game such as the total number of effected strokes.

The said and other objects of our invention will become apparent from the following specification when read with the accompanying drawing in which one embodiment is illustrated by way of example. In the drawing- FIG. 1 shows as indicated therein cross-sectional views taken respectively in the planes AA, BB, CC of FIG. 2 and a frontal view in the direction of arrows D; FIG. 2 shows in its left half the assembled device in a lateral view and in its right half in a sectional view taken in the plane 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a similar sectional partial view taken in the plane 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows another similar sectional partial view taken in the plane 33 of FIG. 1 while the device is in a position for adjustment as will be later described;

FIGS. 5 and 6 show in a top view and in a side View, respectively, clutch means usable in our device, and

FIG. 7 is a partial top view in the direction of arrow 7 in FIG. 1.

The illustrated embodiment of our new scoring device comprises a circular base disk 11 having a central opening and a tubular stub shaft 12 on each side thereof. Each stub shaft rotatably supports an operating disk 13 held by a retaining ring 13' in permanent slidable contact with said base disk 11 which is knurled or otherwise roughened on its cylindrical periphery or provided with notches to facilitate its grasping by the fingers of one hand.

The device being symmetrically built on the base disk 11 as shown in FIG. 2, only one half thereof is shown in the sectional views of FIGS. 3 and 4 and hereinafter described in detail.

A ring shaped gear member 14 having for example fifty teeth is fixed to the base disk 11 coaxially therewith in a depression thereofand meshes with a pinion 15 which has ten teeth and is integral with an axle 16 rotatably seated in a support member such as the operative disk 13. The other end of axle 16 bears firmly a toothed first clutch component 17 which is engageable by one of nine gripping second clutch components 18 (FIGS. 5 and 6) rotatably seated with their axles in an annular support member 19. The outer ends of axles 20 rest rotatably in a cover plate 21 which isattached to the annular support member 19 by a plurality of screws 21 and forms a supporting frame therewith. This frame rotates along with the operative disk 13 when the clutch components 17 and 18 are engaging while an input is being made. Each axle 20 holds firmly between said annular support member 19 and said cover plate 21 an annular scoring element or dial such as drum 22 which on its exposed side surface show ten equally spaced digits 0 to 9 in circular arrangement. Circumferential notches and recesses 23 in cover plate 21 adjacent to each drum 22 expose any of said digits succeedingly appearing therein and provide access to the advantageously roughened edges of the scoring drums 22 to turn the same in clockwise direction.

A circular spring member associated with the annular support member 19 has nine elastic retaining loops 31 each of which resiliently catches one of the gripping clutch components 18 to prevent any unintentional turning thereof and of the associated scoring drum 22. The root of each retaining loop 31 is seated and held in a clearance between lateral projections 32 of the support ring 19 and a profiled ring 33 secured to said support ring 19 holds the spring member 30,with its loops 31 in operative position.

Near the rim of the base disk 11, at least on one side thereof, is an annular series of consecutive indicia numerals, for example 0 to 49; the number of these numerals corresponds to the number of teeth on the gear member 14. The operating disks 13 are each provided with a circumferential recess 34 through which one of the before said numerals may be read (see FIGS. 2 and 7).

The digits 0-9 appearing on each scoring drum 22, nine such drums being on each side of the base disk 11, serve to score the number of strokes needed to reach each one of the eighteen holes of the golf course. The numerals of the series 0 to 49 appearing on each side of the base disk 11, which turns in anticlockwise direction, in-

dicate the total number of effected strokes, i.e., the sum of the strokes registered by the scoring drums 22. It will be understood that after a full turn of an operating disk 13 the numeral appearing in the recess 34 will indicate a numeral above fifty, i.e., the then actually shown numerals 0, 1, 2, 3, etc. will stand for the numerals 50, 51, 52, 53, etc., respectively.

Each of the cover plates 21 is provided with a cupshaped trunnion 24 which rests rotatably and shiftably in axial direction in the tubular stub shaft 12. An inwardly threaded sleeve 25 penetrates the central opening of the base disk 11 and the bottoms of said cup-shaped trunnions and is engaged at each end by an adjusting screw 26. A helical spring 27 within each trunnion 24 bears against a washer 28 which may be separated from the head of the screw 26 by a Teflon ring 29 to reduce friction.

The device as shown being appropriated for golf operates as follows:

Each of the eighteen scoring drums 22, of which nine numbered 1 to 9 are on one side of the base disk 11 and nine numbered 10 to 18 on the other side thereof, serve to record the number of strokes required to reach each one of the eighteen holes of the golf course. Initially all scoring drums 22 are set to expose the numeral 0 through the recesses 23 in the cover plates 21 and 21'; thereafter the scoring drum numbered one is coupled to the pinion 15 by means of the clutch members 17, 18 and is placed under the recess 34 of the operating disk 13 which initially also exposes the numeral 0. During this and the following operation the device is held in one hand by circumferentially seizing the base disk 11. When after each stroke the scoring drum numbered one is turned with the other hand in clockwise direction to show the next following numeral in the recess 23, i.e. to register one stroke, the pinion 15 will roll on the gear member 14 taking along the operating disk 13 thereby exposing in the recess 34 the next following indicia numeral of the total register upon the base disk 11. When the first hole is reached and the number of strokes required thereto has been registered on the scoring drum marked 1, the cover plate 21 is moved away from the operating disk 13 against the force of the spring 27 as illustrated in FIG. 4 thereby disengaging the clutch members 17, 18 and thereafter is turned in anticlockwise direction until the gripping member 18 associated with the next following scoring drum marked 2 is in a position to engage the toothed clutch member 17. The above described operation is then repeated with this second and all following scoring drums 22 so that the total number of strokes will show in the recess 34, while the number of strokes required for each individual hole remains recorded on each respective scoring drum 22.

Instead of turning the scoring drum 22 after each stroke, as described above, it is of course possible to seize and to hold the cover plate 21 in one hand and to turn the base disk 11 in anticlockwise direction to show succeeding numerals in the recess 34 after each stroke, it being well appreciated that only the relative rotation of the base disk 11 and of the support member 19 with cover plates 21, 21' is decisive.

As explained above our new device will afford at any time a full and detailed record of any game which progresses in consecutive sections such as golf.

While only one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention, it will be understood that it may be otherwise embodied without departing from such principles and without avoiding our appended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A scoring device for games progressing in consecutive individual sections, for example for golf, comprising in combination a base member having at least one side face and a first annular series of indicia numerals thereupon forming a total register; a gearing firmly and coaxially associated with said base member at least on one side thereof; an operative member mounted rotatably relative to said side face of said base member; a pinion rotatably mounted in the operative member in engagement with said gearing; a first clutch component operatively associated with said pinion; a rotatable supporting frame member adjacent to said operative member and coaxially rotatable relative thereto; a plurality of equidistantly spaced annular scoring elements rotatably mounted in said frame member; each scoring element being operatively associated with a second clutch component for selective engagement with the first clutch component to effect rotation of the operative member when the clutch components are in engagement; a second series of indicia numerals on each scoring element forming a sectional register; the transmission ratio between said gearing and said pinion being equal to the ratio of the amount of indicia numerals of the first and of the second series; means for disengagement of any selectively cooperating clutch components to permit turning of the frame member relative to the operative member for setting succeeding second clutch components into engagement with the first clutch component; spring means holding selectively engaged clutch components in such engagement; and catch means preventing each indicator dial from unintentional turning.

2. A scoring device for games progressing in consecutive individual sections, for example for golf, comprising in combination a base member having at least one side face and a first annular series of indicia numerals thereupon forming a total register; a tubular stub shaft firmly extending at least to one side of the base member centrally therefrom; a gearing firmly associated with the base member and concentrically surrounding said stub shaft; an operative member rotatably mounted on said stub shaft adjacent to said side face of said base member; a pinion rotatably mounted in the operative member in engagement with said gearing; a first clutch component operatively associated with said pinion; a rotatable supporting frame adjacent to the operative member and including a plurality of equidistantly spaced scoring drums rotatably mounted therein; each scoring drum being operatively associated with a second clutch component for selective engagement with the first clutch component to effect rotation of the operative member when the clutch components are in engagement; a second series of indicia numerals on each scoring drum forming a sectional register; said supporting frame rotatably mounted on the tubular stub shaft and displaceable in axial direction away from the operative member to disengage selectively cooperating clutch components and to permit rotation of the frame member relative to the operative member for setting succeeding second clutch components into engagement with the first clutch component; the transmission ratio between said gearing and said pinion being equal to the ratio of the amount of indicia numerals of the first and of the second series; spring means holding selectively engaged clutch components in such engagement; and catch means preventing each indicator dial from unintentional turning.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 959,203 5/1910 Decies 235-413 1,271,927 7/ 1918 Murchey 235-411 1,496,424 6/1924 McCoy 235113 1,501,398 7/1924 Eacrett 235113 1,548,941 8/1925 Giset 2351 14 1,944,629 1/1934 Bea-ch 235-411 2,308,064 1/1943 Eacrett 235-114 2,444,224 6/ 1948 Gardner 2351 14 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

LEO SMILOW, Examiner.

TERRY I. ANDERSON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SCORING DEVICE FOR GAMES PROGRESSING IN CONSECUTIVE INDIVIDUAL SECTIONS, FOR EXAMPLE FOR GOLF, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A BASE MEMBER HAVING AT LEAST ONE SIDE FACE AND A FIRST ANNULAR SERIES OF INDICIA NUMERALS THEREUPON FORMING A TOTAL REGISTER; A GEARING FIRMLY AND COAXIALLY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID BASE MEMBER AT LEAST ON ONE SIDE THEREOF; AN OPERATIVE MEMBER MOUNTED ROTATABLY RELATIVE TO SIDE FACE OF SAID BASE MEMBER; A PINION ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE OPERATIVE MEMBER IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID GEARING; A FIRST CLUTCH COMPONENT OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID PINION; A ROTATABLE SUPPORTING FRAME MEMBER ADJACENT TO SAID OPERATIVE MEMBER AND COAXIALLY ROTATABLE RELATIVE THERETO; A PLURALITY OF EQUIDISTANTLY SPACED ANNULAR SCORING ELEMENTS ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME MEMBER; EACH SCORING ELEMENTS BEING OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SECOND CLUTCH COMPONENT FOR SELECTIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FIRST CLUTCH COMPONENT TO EFFECT ROTATION OF THE OPERATIVE MEMBER WHEN THE CLUTCH CONPONENTS 